The Chișinău Independence Day Parade is one of the events of the Independence Day of Moldova held by the

Moldovan National Army The Moldovan National Army ( ro, Armata Națională a Republicii Moldova) is the senior branch of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova composed of the Air Force and the Land Forces. The National Army is considered to be the regular duty m ...

. The parade is held in Chișinău,

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnist ...

on August 27 every 5 to 10 years on Great National Assembly Square.

History of Moldovan military parades

Before 1991 parades in the

Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic ( ro, Republica Sovietică Socialistă Moldovenească, Moldovan Cyrillic: ) was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1940 to 1991. The republic was formed on 2 August 1940 ...

were held in honor of the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

, and until 1969

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. Tr ...

. In 1976, Chisinau hosted a parade in honor of the 50th anniversary of its integration into the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, held in the presence of General Secretary

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between 1964 and ...

and First Secretary Ivan Bodiul. The final military parade in the Moldovan SSR took place in 1989 in honor of the

, which was marred by protests that occurred in the capital. On the morning of 7 November, a group of 100 people from the

Popular Front of Moldova The Popular Front of Moldova ( ro, Frontul Popular din Moldova) was a political movement in the Moldavian SSR, one of the 15 union republics of the former Soviet Union, and in the newly independent Republic of Moldova. Formally, the Front existed ...

took candles and stood in front of Soviet tanks preparing for the parade. As a result, the mobile column of the parade was interrupted and abruptly canceled by the ruling authorities, with the leaders of Communist Party of Moldova left the central stage immediately. Moldova would not hold another military parade until 2001.

Independence parades

2001

In 2001, Moldova celebrated the 10th anniversary of independence. It was the first parade since the fall of the USSR and was ordered by President

Vladimir Voronin Vladimir Voronin (; born 25 May 1941) is a Soviet and Moldovan politician. He was the third president of Moldova from 2001 until 2009 and has been the First Secretary of the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM) since 1994. He ...

in early July.

2011

2011 celebrated the 20th anniversary of independence. Acting President Marian Lupu, who signed the order for the parade that April delivered the holiday address during the parade. Inspecting the parade from a GAZ-24 cabriolet parade car was the

Minister of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in so ...

of Moldova

Vitalie Marinuța Vitalie Marinuța (born 16 June 1970) is a Moldovan politician and former military officer who served as Minister of Defense of Moldova between 25 September 2009 and 27 February 2014. Education * Bachelor of Science in International Relations, ...

while the officer commanding the parade was Brigadier General Vitalie Stoian from the National Army's General Staff. Dress rehearsals took place three, seven and ten days before the parade, with the first rehearsal on August being attended by

Prime Minister of Moldova The Prime Minister of Moldova ( ro, Prim-ministrul Republicii Moldova) is Moldova's head of government. The Prime Minister is formally appointed by the President of Moldova and exercises executive power along with the cabinet, subject to parliam ...

Vlad Filat Vladimir Filat (born 6 May 1969), commonly referred to as Vlad Filat (), is a Moldovan businessman and politician, founder of Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova. He was the Prime Minister of Moldova from 25 September 2009 to 25 April 2013. He ...

. It was the first time

military equipment A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

had been brought to the central square sine 1989. At the head of the parade were the flag of Moldova, as well as the military banners of the Emperor

Stefan the Great Stephen III of Moldavia, most commonly known as Stephen the Great ( ro, Ștefan cel Mare; ; died on 2 July 1504), was Voivode (or Prince) of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504. He was the son of and co-ruler with Bogdan II, who was murdered in 1451 ...

, which were brought to Chisinau from

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

as a gesture on their part. The contingent of veterans of the Transnistrian War was led by

Division General Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corp ...

Ion Costaș Ion Costaș (born 22 February 1944) is a Moldovan military officer and a former minister of interior (1990–1992) and Defence (1992). He is a leader of the Democratic Forum of Romanians in Moldova. Biography Ion Costaş was born in 1944 in the ...

, a former Minister of Interior (1990–1992) and Defence (1992). A new, more western style marching formula was used for the parade as well as new military uniforms were used during the parade.

2016

2016 celebrated the silver jubilee of Moldovan independence. It was the first to use a revised format that was similar to the

Great Union Day , nickname = ro, Ziua Marii Uniri , observedby = Romania, Moldova (unofficially) , begins = , ends = , duration = 1 day , frequency = annual , scheduling = same day each year , date = 1 December , da ...

Parade in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

. The following 6 foreign contingents took part in the parade for the first time: Odessa Military Academy (

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

), the Michael the Brave 30th Guards Brigade and the Asociatia Traditia Militara contingent (

), the Representative Honor Guard Battalion of the Polish Armed Forces (

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

), the Grand Duke Gediminas Staff Battalion ( Lithuania), and a 4-man group from the Royal Irish Regiment (

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

). Servicemen of the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

were also invited to the parade. More than 2,000 soldiers, as well as veterans of the army marched in the parade. The commander of the parade was the Chief of the General Staff of the Moldovan Armed Forces, Brigadier General Igor Cutie. During the 2016 parade, Moldovan police fired tear gas to disperse anti-government protesters who were participating in the 2015–16 protests. Opposition parties previously had called for rallies to disrupt the military parade, launching an "I'm not afraid" campaign on social media. Opposition lawyer Anna Ursaki said the following in favor of protests: "If the authorities have the right to organize parades, to have a feast during the plague, when people are miserable, we have the right to protests".

2021

2021 marked the 30th anniversary of independence. The action plan for the parade was approved by the government in June and President

Maia Sandu Maia Sandu (; born 24 May 1972) is a Moldovan politician who has been the President of Moldova since 24 December 2020. She is the former leader of the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) and former Prime Minister of Moldova from 8 June 2019 u ...

signed the corresponding decree on July 23. It costed 2 million

Moldovan leu The leu (sign: L; ISO 4217 code: MDL) is the currency of Moldova. Like the Romanian leu, the Moldovan leu ( lei) is subdivided into 100 bani ( ban). The name of the currency originates from a Romanian word which means "lion". Etymology The name ...

. 1,200 participants (800 from the National Army and 420 from the security services) took part in the parade, which took place within a framework to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Moldova. The parade was led by Brigadier General

Igor Gorgan Brigadier General Igor Gorgan (born 2 August 1969) is a Moldovan military officer who is currently the Chief of the General Staff. Biography He was born on 2 August 1969 in Dubăsari. At the age of 18, he joined the Soviet Army, immediately attend ...

, with Cristian Tabîrţa serving as chief standard bearer. The following dignitaries were in attendance: *Moldovan President

*Moldovan Prime Minister

Natalia Gavrilița Natalia Gavrilița (; born 21 September 1977) is a Moldovan economist and politician who has served as prime minister of Moldova since 2021. Gavrilița was previously proposed as prime minister by Maia Sandu in February 2021, but was rejected ...

President of the Moldovan Parliament The President of the Parliament ( ro, Președintele Parlamentului) is the presiding officer of the Parliament of Moldova. The current President of the Parliament is Igor Grosu since 29 July 2021. History Moldavian Democratic Republic Mold ...

Igor Grosu Igor Grosu (born 30 November 1972) is a Moldovan politician who is the President of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova since 29 July 2021. He has been a member of the Moldovan Parliament since March 2019. Grosu has been the leader (at fi ...

*Moldovan Defence Minister

Anatolie Nosatîi Anatolie Nosatîi (born 12 September 1972) is the Ministry of Defense (Moldova), Minister of Defence of the Republic of Moldova. Early life and career From 1987 to 1990, he studied at the Frunze Republican Boarding School in the Moldovan capita ...

*Romanian President

Klaus Iohannis Klaus Werner Iohannis (; ; also spelled Johannis; born 13 June 1959) is a Romanian politician, physicist and former teacher who has been serving as the president of Romania since 2014. He became leader of the National Liberal Party (Romania), Na ...

(who arrived in time for the start of the march past) *Romanian Defence Minister Nicolae Ciucă *Polish President

Andrzej Duda Andrzej Sebastian Duda (; born 16 May 1972) is a Polish lawyer and politician who has served as president of Poland since 6 August 2015. Before becoming president, Andrzej Duda was a member of Polish Lower House ( Sejm) from 2011 to 2014 and t ...

*Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelensky Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...

*Ukrainian Prime Minister

Denys Shmyhal Denys Anatoliyovych Shmyhal ( uk, Денис Анатолійович Шмигаль; born 15 October 1975) is a Ukrainian politician and entrepreneur who is the current Prime Minister of Ukraine since 2020. Prior to his appointment as prime ...

Parade composition

The parade has the following general composition: * *Veterans of the Transnistria War and the Soviet-Afghan War *Officers of the National Army *

Alexandru cel Bun Military Academy The Alexandru cel Bun Military Academy (AMFA; ) is the main military academy of Moldova. The mission of academy is to prepare officers for service in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova in compliance with Euro-Atlantic requirements on in ...

*Infantry of the National Army **

1st Motorized Infantry Brigade "Moldova" The 1st Motorized Infantry Brigade "Moldova" is an motorized infantry unit of the Moldovan National Army's Ground Forces based in the Moldovan city of Bălți. It was the first Army unit to be created in the newly independent country, being founded ...

** 2nd Motorized Infantry Brigade "Stefan Cel Mare" **

3rd Motorized Infantry Brigade "Dacia" The 3rd Motorized Infantry Brigade "Dacia" is an motorized infantry unit of the Moldovan National Army's Ground Forces based in Cahul. History The Dacia Motorized Infantry Brigade in Cahul was created on February 24, 1992, by the decree of the P ...

** 22nd Peacekeeping Battalion *Forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs ** Ştefan cel Mare Police Academy **

Special Forces Brigade "Fulger" The Special Forces Police Brigade "Fulger" ( ro, Brigada de poliție cu destinație specială (BPDS) «Fulger») is a specialized police unit of the General Police Inspectorate. It is considered to be one of the most combat-ready units in Moldova. ...

**Officers of the

General Police Inspectorate The General Police Inspectorate ( ro, Inspectoratul General al Poliției, IGP) is the national civilian police force of the Republic of Moldova. It is a state institution subordinated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Moldova), Ministry of Inte ...

**Inspectorate General of the

Trupele de Carabinieri The Trupele de Carabinieri ( Carabinier Troops in English) is the national gendarmerie force of the Republic of Moldova, under the administration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Moldova. The Moldovan Carabinieri are to ensure, together ...

Moldovan Border Police The Moldovan Border Police also commonly known as the Moldovan Frontier Police is the official paramilitary border guard of the Republic of Moldova. It is currently a department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI) and exercises its powers ...

**Civil Protection and Emergency Situations Service * Honor Guard Company of the National Army

Military bands in attendance

The

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the ti ...

s of the Chisinau Garrison who take part in the parade are composed of: * The

Presidential Orchestra of the Republic of Moldova The Presidential Band of the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Orchestra prezidențială a Republicii Moldova, OPRM) is an artist collective and the senior most military band of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova (also under the Moldovan Nation ...

* The Band of the 1st Motorized Infantry Brigade * The Band of the 2nd Motorized Infantry Brigade * The Band of the 3rd Motorized Infantry Brigade * Band of the

* Band of the Department of Carabinier Troops * Central Band of the Border Police

Photos of the parade

File:25 річниці незалежності Молдови 08.jpg, Chișinău Independence Day Parade, 2016 File:25 річниці незалежності Молдови 07.jpg, Chișinău Independence Day Parade, 2016 File:25 річниці незалежності Молдови 10.jpg, Chișinău Independence Day Parade, 2016 File:08-27-2016 - Парад в Молдовы 06.jpg, Ukrainian troops drawn from the Odessa Military Academy during the 2016 parade. File:25 річниці незалежності Молдови 06.jpg, Chișinău Independence Day Parade, 2016

References

External links

2001 Chișinău Independence Day Parade

2011 Chișinău Independence Day Parade

"Limba noastră" performed here by the Presidential Band of the Republic of Moldova in the 2011 Chișinău Independence Day Parade

2016 Chișinău Independence Day Parade
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chisinau Independence Day Parade Military parades Events in Moldova Chișinău Summer events in Moldova Military of Moldova